U.S. patent number 5,269,473 [Application Number 07/850,667] was granted by the patent office on 1993-12-14 for support structure for a paper shredder.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Geha-Werke GmbH. Invention is credited to Knut Bliesener, Willi Strohmeyer.
United States Patent |
5,269,473 |
Strohmeyer , et al. |
December 14, 1993 |
Support structure for a paper shredder
Abstract
A stand for a shredder has its frame members fully accommodated
in recesses open to the rear of a paper collector so that the stand
is not visible from the front or sides. The paper shredder-cutter
unit is mounted on the stand only so that the collector can be
removed and does not have a supporting function. The appearance of
the integrated assembly of paper shredder, collector and stand is
similar to that of a cabinet-type paper shredder.
Inventors: |
Strohmeyer; Willi (Hanover,
DE), Bliesener; Knut (Hanover, DE) |
Assignee: |
Geha-Werke GmbH (Hanover,
DE)
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Family
ID: |
6427067 |
Appl.
No.: |
07/850,667 |
Filed: |
March 13, 1992 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
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Mar 13, 1991 [DE] |
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4107922 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
241/100; 220/668;
220/671; 220/908; 248/146 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B02C
18/0007 (20130101); Y10S 220/908 (20130101); B02C
2018/0046 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B02C
18/00 (20060101); B65F 001/08 () |
Field of
Search: |
;248/907,146 ;241/100
;220/401,408,410,668,675,671,669,23.83,23.86,737,908,914,565 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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2249251 |
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Sep 1973 |
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DE |
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3922313 |
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Jan 1991 |
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DE |
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2576291 |
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Jul 1986 |
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FR |
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177891 |
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Sep 1935 |
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CH |
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Primary Examiner: Shoap; Allan N.
Assistant Examiner: Castellano; S.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Dubno; Herbert Kateshov; Yuri
Claims
We claim:
1. A paper shredder comprising:
a frame comprising a substantially vertical back section formed
from at least one upright, a substantially horizontal upper section
mounted on said back section and connected thereto only at a back
of the upper section and a base section affixed to a lower portion
of said back section and angled from said upright;
a cutter unit mounted on said upper section; and
a shredded-paper collector removably inserted in said frame for
receiving shredded paper from said unit, said collector being
upwardly open and formed with:
a pair of side walls extending a full height of said frame between
said base and upper sections,
a rear wall bridging said side walls and provided with at least one
recess receiving said back section upon insertion of said collector
on said frame in an insertion direction, said recess being vertical
and spaced inwardly from said side walls and open rearwardly in
said direction to receive said upright overt the full height of the
upright and to shield said upright from view, said cutter unit
being supported exclusively at a rear of said cutter unit and said
frame.
2. The paper shredder defined in claim 1 wherein said sections are
formed from bent metal strip.
3. The paper shredder defined in claim 2 wherein said sections are
formed from metal angles.
4. The paper shredder defined in claim 1 wherein said sections are
formed from tubes.
5. The paper shredder defined in claim 1 wherein said base section
is formed with a pair of horizontally outwardly angled lower
members forming standing surfaces for the support.
6. The paper shredder defined in claim 1 wherein said collector is
an injection-molded container composed of a synthetic resin
material.
7. The paper shredder defined in claim 6 wherein said container is
formed in one piece.
8. The paper shredder defined in claim 1 wherein said collector has
a width at its upper end substantially equal to a width of said
shredder and said shredder overhangs said upper section of said
frame.
9. The paper shredder defined in claim 8 wherein said collector has
said side walls which are inclined downwardly toward one
another.
10. The paper shredder defined in claim 9 wherein said collector
has a front wall inclined downwardly and inwardly.
11. The shredder defined in claim 11 wherein said at least one
recess has two recesses.
12. The shredder defined in claim 10 wherein said back section of
the frame is formed with two uprights each received in one of said
two recesses.
13. The shredder defined in claim 1 wherein said back section of
said frame and said rear wall of said container are flush.
Description
Field of the Invention
Our present invention relates to a support structure for a paper
shredder and, more particularly, to a structure, including a
shredded-paper collector or container, upon which a paper shredder
can be mounted, the paper shredder comprising, in an appropriate
housing, a motor-driven cutter unit capable of subdividing paper or
other information carriers introduced through an inlet slot or
mouth, into strips or other pieces.
Basically, such a support structure is comprised of a frame and a
paper collector or paper-receiving container which is removably
received on the frame so that it can collect the comminuted paper
for disposal.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A paper shredder having a support structure which is comprised of a
frame and a paper collector is described in German Patent 22 09
431. In this system, the paper shredder rests upon a tubular frame
support into which the paper collector is inserted and is received
so as to provide at least part of the supporting function.
The support frame is comprised of two closed tubes located along
the sides of the shredder. The paper collector is inserted between
the two halves of the support frame.
A drawback of this system is that the frame members lie outwardly
of the collector and thus do not interact with the collector in an
optimum manner. The appearance of the unit is also a
disadvantage.
There are systems which mount a shredder directly upon the paper
basket. These systems also do not form a coherent visual unit,
provide surfaces which may catch upon the user and which may not
provide adequate support. An important disadvantage of this system,
moreover, is that the shredder must be lifted from the basket
whenever the basket must be emptied. The consequence is a
probability that paper particles and residues may spread through
the room.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
It is, therefore, the principal object of the present invention to
provide a support for a paper shredder and, indeed, a paper
shredder in which the cutter unit is mounted upon a support which
will integrate the paper collector, the support frame and the
cutter unit or shredder itself both optically and structurally so
that, from the point of view of appearance at least, the collector
will function as a cabinet for the paper shredder although it can
be removed therefrom for emptying and does not require lifting of
the shredder unit from the support.
Another object of the invention is to provide an economically
constructed and marketable paper shredder which has the optical
unity of a cabinet-type paper shredder without the added cost
thereof and without complexities involved in emptying such paper
shredder.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a
support structure for a paper shredder whereby earlier drawbacks
are avoided.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
These objects and others which will become apparent hereinafter are
attained, in accordance with the invention, in a support structure
for a paper shredder which comprises:
a frame comprising a substantially vertical back section formed
from at least one upright, a substantially horizontal upper section
for receiving a cutter unit of a paper shredder and mounted on the
back section and a base section affixed to a lower portion of the
back section and angled from the upright; and
a shredded-paper collector for receiving shredded paper from the
unit, the collector being upwardly open, fitting beneath the unit
and formed with rearwardly open recesses for the sections whereby,
upon insertion of the collector beneath the unit, the collector
receives the frame and shields the frame substantially from
view.
According to a feature of the invention, the members of the frame
are angled metal strip, preferably so-called metal angles or
channels or equivalent structural shapes. Alternatively, members
forming the frame may be tube members and the frame may have a
tubular construction.
According to another feature of the invention, the paper collector
is a one-piece injection-molded plastic container, the upper end of
which has a width corresponding to the width of the paper shredder
itself so that the lateral edges of the mouth of the collector are
substantially at the end walls of the housing of the shredder. The
lateral and front walls of the collector can converge downwardly
and inwardly, and, if desired, the rear wall may be vertical.
The support frame of the invention may, therefore, have a
substantially vertical section from which the upper and lower
sections angle forwardly, thereby creating a very simple frame
which can be fabricated in a highly economical manner.
Since the frame has a much smaller width than the paper collector
and the shredder itself and paper collector is formed at its rear
with upon recesses accommodating the section of the frame, the
frame can be practically fully concealed from view, except as seen
from the rear. The result is that the assembly has the appearance
of a cabinet for the shredder and can be used with greater
cleanliness. Since the frame is substantially covered by the
collector, it does not detract from the appearance of the apparatus
in an office environment.
Both the formation of the frame members as metal structural shapes
and especially angles or from tubing can be realized simply and
inexpensively at low material cost.
When the frame members are bent sheet metal parts, it is
advantageous to provide angled flanges which increase the stability
of these structural shapes. The horizontal outwardly bent portions
of the lower section or base can form standing surfaces for the
frame which can increase the static stability of the shredder.
The paper collector need not be designed with structural support in
mind and hence its shape can be more freely selected than has
hitherto been the case. In a preferred embodiment, the paper
collector is injection molded from synthetic resin, thereby
minimizing the cost. Such injection molding, moreover, enables the
rearwardly-open recesses of the collector to be formed economically
and simply to accommodate the sections of the frame. The inclined
walls of the collector facilitate emptying thereof.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present
invention will become more readily apparent from the following
description, reference being made to the accompanying drawing in
which:
FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a paper shredder according to
the invention with the collector removed;
FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of a paper collector for use with
the shredder of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the paper shredder of FIG. 1
with the paper collector removed;
FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of a paper shredder according to
the invention with the paper collector in place;
FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 3 and illustrating another
embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 6 is a detail view in section showing the recesses of a
collector accommodating frame members according to the
invention;
FIG. 7 is a detail view of a larger scale showing a tubular frame
member accommodated in the recesses of the container; and
FIG. 8 is a cross sectional view showing another configuration of a
collector recess accommodating frame members.
SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION
In the drawing we have shown a paper shredder 1 which is mounted on
a support structure comprised of a frame 2 and a paper collecting
receptacle 3.
From FIG. 1 it will be apparent that the frame 2, made of bent
sheet steel, for example, e.g. steel angles, can comprise a
vertically-oriented rear section 4, a substantially horizontal
upper section 5 angled forwardly from the rear section and secured
thereto to form a support for the shredder or cutter unit in its
housing, and a substantially horizontal bottom section 6 forming a
stand for the frame.
The sections 4, 5 and 6 of the frame 2 have angled edge surfaces or
flanges 7 to increase the stability of the frame or stand. The
flanges 7 are also visible in FIG. 3 of the drawing.
The horizontal bottom section 6 of the frame 2 is provided with
pedestal surfaces or feet 8 which can be downwardly turned (FIG. 3)
to increase the stability of the stand against lateral forces
applied to the shredder 1.
From FIG. 2 of the drawing, it will be apparent that a paper
collector 3, which is receivable in and on the stand 2 can have its
rear provided with rearwardly open recesses 9. The recesses 9 are
injection molded in the one-piece container composed of synthetic
resin or plastic material.
From the side view of FIG. 1, in which the collector 3 is shown in
broken lines, it will be apparent that the sections 4-6 of the
stand 2 engage in the recesses so that the recesses receive the
stand and the stand is from the front and the sides, concealed
within the container 3.
From the front view of FIG. 4, with the collector 3 in place, the
frame or stand 2 is completely invisible.
It is also possible to impart to the collector 3 a configuration
that allows it to completely conceal the stand 2 from both sides.
Only pedestal surfaces 8 project beyond the collector 3 (see FIG.
4).
The side walls 10 of the collector 3 are inclined inwardly and
downwardly as is the front wall 11 of the collector 3 (compare
FIGS. 2 and 4).
The front wall 11 may be provided with a forwardly-projecting
pocket 12' formed with an opening 12 adapted to receive waste paper
which is to be discarded without shredding.
Since the shredder cutter unit 1 is fully supported by the stand 2,
the paper collector 3 can be inserted into and over the stand 2
without having to assume any supporting function. Thus the shredder
need not be lifted away when the collector is removed for emptying.
Since the stand 2 is completely invisible from the front and sides,
the apparatus has a solid compact configuration in which the
collector 3 appears to form a cabinet on which the shredder 2 is
supported.
FIG. 5 shows a embodiment of the invention in which the
n stand or frame 2 is of tubular construction and comprises an
upright formed by limbs 13, a substantially horizontally-angled
upper section 14 and a horizontally-angled lower section 15. The
upper section 14 here also serves as a support for the shredder
1.
In addition, the lower section 15 is provided with pedestal members
or feet 8 which project laterally outwardly. The recesses 9 open at
the rear of the paper collector of this embodiment and are also
configured to completely receive the sections 13, 14 and 15 of the
stand. When the collector 3 is in place, therefore, this frame is
also not visible.
The stand 2 and the collector 3 are separate parts of which only
the stand 2 actually supports the shredder 1 to receive the
comminuted paper therefrom through the open mouth of the collector
3 underlying the shredder outlet. The unit 2, 3 can be made
available separately from the shredder 1 and can accommodate a
waste basket shredder. The apparatus is particularly user-friendly
and of esthetic appearance.
As can be seen from a comparison of FIGS. 6 and 8, the recesses 9'
or 9 can form pockets in which the individual frame members are
received or a wide pocket in which the entire section is received.
The pockets 9' can even accommodate tubular members 13' of the
stand. Each of the recesses has a surface 9" which is juxtaposed
with a respective portion of the upright 4" over a full height of
cutter.
FIG. 8 shows the back portion 4 of the frame lying flush with the
back side 3' of the container.
* * * * *